Hi Nicola,

You’re right, in theory, if she’s good enough she will ‘pass’.

However there isn’t just a simple pass mark, the results are standardised to take the top % of all the scores. The sad reality is that many children are receiving extra tuition these days and may well take up a grammar school place that should be awarded to a far more able child, just because they know some tricks on how to beat the test. Over the last 5 or 6 years the goalposts have been radically moved by overly competitive parents. The intention of the test is becoming a bit of a farce. Sad but true.

I don’t mean to scare you but if you aren’t going for tuition I would still suggest going through as much as you can at home with her.

I’m not a big fan of Tired Teacher’s “what will be will be” stand – but that is because I refuse to leave anything to chance when it comes to my own children’s future. There must be a sensible balance though and this must not be forgotten. Some parents will crowbar their children into a demanding school even if they do not pass….sometimes it isn’t a good move.

If you truly think your daughter is grammar school material (and, more importantly, her teachers do) I think you should at least give her a hand.

And good luck with whatever you do – there are enough resources here on this website to get you through.

hi old skool, thanks for your comments. we have already started with a little extra tuition at home with her. feels a bit like we're trying to keep up with the jones' though. im certain a grammar school is going to be the right choice for her as she excells at all subjects at school and i get frustrated at the ease of homework she is set. she has been on the gifted and talented register since she started school. each time ive asked school to set her harder work im told they cant, due to funding. its so annoying.

Hi,

I've just decided to enter my son for this year's 11+ (Essex & Redbridge) and am feeling panicky to say the least!! It seems to me that everyone has been preparing for months (years in some cases) and, although I feel sure he's grammar school material, I wonder whether I'll be setting him up to fail.

Some children in his class have been tutored since year 2 and they're not allowed to attend after school activities, go on club camp, school trips away etc as they'll miss tutoring.

I feel the 11+ is a bit of a farce as many children pass because they are little robots who have been tutored to within an inch of their lives! Having said that, I want to give him the opportunity as he's naturally very bright and is a good all rounder and one thing is sure, he won't pass if he doesn't sit the exam.

My son is quite reluctant to study, although I've recently managed to get him to look at some verbal reasoning questions and he seems to have a natural ability but he's too slow at the moment. He loves reading certain books such as Harry Potter but refuses to read older texts.

Does anyone have any advice for me please as I don't really know where to start.

Thanks

Nichola: keeping up with the jones is rarely a good idea. you need to do what you need to do because it is the right thing and for no other reason. if going to a grammar school is right for your daughter then you need to take responsibility and help her to prepare sufficiently. If it can be done in conjunction with her primary school then that is best but if not you must do what it takes. as for the homework set by the school being not sufficiently demanding, you should take this as a warning and set her work that is. in the middle of my son's year five I woke up to the fact that the maths being set was too simple when comparing it with the demands of the 11+ maths paper. I then took the view to teach him maths myself that was at the appropriate level and I do not regret it. there is plenty of guidance in these forums and on this website of what you can/should do.

Alexmonster: aaah Harry Potter. Personally speaking I am not a Potter fan but I also recognise the books are well written. If your son is reading this then be thankful and encourage him. I had a similar challenge when I found my son was obsessed with reading Alex Rider books rather than my beloved children's classics. In the end we decided to encourage him to read what he was interested in, while trying to broaden (sometimes by stealth) his horizons. We felt this was the right decision. The idea of children being tutored for the 11+ from a very early age at the expense of other considerations seems to me fairly horrific and, likely, counterproductive. I do believe though you should take steps (discussed in my book and elsewhere): a year before the exam you embark on a program to help prepare him (assuming that going to a grammar school is right for your son and what you as a family want to). I sympathise with your quandary though that while on one hand he is bright that on the other he is reluctant to study and suspect this is not uncommon, although I notice you are having some success. Without knowing your sitaution, it is difficult to comment, but I would say that in principle that you should encourage him to appropriately prepare in a regular, disciplined way, with you as the main educator (helped by tutors if you can/want) and at the same time to help him lead a happy, normal and balanced life.

Hi all. My son is due to sit 11+ in Sept/Oct, in Bucks. My daughter got through few years back so now doing this all again. He has been going to tutor for "tips" since Jan, for 1 hour a week but he shares the hour with another. This seems to be a good way to learn as the 2 kids talk each other through problems they are unsure of before the tutor guides them through question types.

I do sympathise with the tired teacher but also point out that the private/independant schools seem to provide the students with examples during their classes, which state schools cannot. Therefore private students may seem not to require tutoring outside school as they have the ability but this a skewed reality.

My tutor has always promised to be honest and tell her clients within 4 weeks if the child does not already have the "ability" to cope at a grammer school. (She is an ex-grammer teacher)

Checking in!

Started preparation in July for this years 11+ after being convinced by family friends that we really need to prepare for "months" if not years! So hopefully we are not too late.

The only positive is that the kid is an eager beaver and seems to gobble up stuff sooner than we can throw it at him (and its getting expensive!)

Anyway, will keep updating on how things go.

Found a lot of downloadable stuff on this site and that should keep the little monster going for a while.